Day 6 and 7. Up the coast we go.

For the record my plan was to fly from location to location. However my husband had the idea of driving up the Pacific Coast highway. In his words he knew we would be back to California, but he wasn't so sure we'd have a chance in the near future to drive the coast. So that's what we did. 

We woke up in Anaheim, where I immediately had Mickey withdrawal and wished we could stay so I politely asked Devin if we could go to the World of Disney store one more time before we left town and he happily said yes! No convincing needed! Vacation Devin is the best. I found an ornament I had been looking for, it says just married, and then we hit the road. 

We stopped in Santa Barbara just to drive around (there's a few colleges there so who knows it could be a future home) and then we caught sight of all these beautiful hills! Before long we were in San Luos Obispo where we were spending the night. They have a famous farmers market where the speciality is BBQ. We got a pulled pork sandwich, a baked potato, and a linguica sausage and we ate on the side walk because in California in December it is still warm enough to eat street food while sitting on a planter. WE NEED TO MOVE IMMEDIATELY!  

After our street festival dinner we went to a local brewery where I utilized their free wifi to finish some homework and respond to emails, and Devin got a flight of beer. Clearly it fit both our needs well. 

Then we came back to the hotel where we stopped at the Cost Plus World market that was located next door. It is one of Devin's all time favorite stores and we don't have one in Iowa so we had to stop! I got a ugly sweater sugar cookie kit and some chocolates from around the world and Devin got some beers. Then we went back to the room where I promptly fell asleep while reading my book. 

In the morning we enjoyed our fabulous embassy suites breakfast, and then it was up to San Simeon we went. We did a tour of the Hearst Mansion that was such a blast! Amazing views all around and the house is truly spectacular. 

Here is the mantle in the large grand room. It's so beautiful! 

I love that everything was decorated for Christmas, it just made everything all the more joyful.

I liked this statue a lot. That's some intense wrestling. 

Here's a view of part of the house. Yeah. I'd live there. 

Then I asked my husband to take a picture with me and this was the result. He HATES selfies, but when there are only two of you on a trip you don't really have a choice. 

The last stop at the house was the indoor pool which was absolutely gorgeous. 

Devin got some cool photos because he is very committed to his craft. Also since he does not like to be photographed most of my photos of him are of his back. I have a whole series of them. It must be a similar collection to what a stalker captures, glances from behind pillars and snapshot obscures by bushes. 

More from behind. 

It took longer than I thought to get through the mansion so we quickly got back on the road and started the journey to Monterey. This was definitely the best part of the drive. We kept pulling over and getting out to take it all in (and take pictures of course). Devin kept remarking about how he can't believe how many people he's met who are so content to stay where they've always been, how sad it is that they will never witness the overwhelming beauty that the world has to offer. I agree and it's one reason we promised each other we would spend our lives taking every opportunity to travel the world. Most of my pictures from the Pacific Coast Highway are on my camera because it was so beautiful I wanted to capture it on a real camera and not my shitty iPhone. The majority of the drive featured the ocean on one side and mountains on the other (can you call them mountains? I am from the flat middle of the country, so they look like mountains to me.) Anyways if you can do it in your life - DO IT! The drive is worth it. It's truly breath taking. 

When we got to Monterey we checked into our hotel. Our original plan was to go to the aquarium but everything else in the day had run a bit long so we only would have had an hour and a half at the aquarium. We stayed at a place called Hotel 1110, which looked very sketchy from the outside but was actually an excellent hotel. It was adults only, though I don't generally find children disruptive at hotels. Our room had an electric fireplace that kept me very toasty and a shower that had spray jets running down the wall from the shower head to the knob for the water. They were stupendous!! I want that in my shower immediately. Good thing I married a plumber. 

Then we went to Cannery Row where we stopped in a few shops, I bought a hat for $7 that you will see in the next set of photos, and we stopped by a brewing company to buy a giant pretzel I had seen on TV. It was at the Cannery Row Brewing Company and I definitely recommend it if you're in the area and was a few drinks. 

It was yummy and the cheese sauce that came with it was a real winner. Then we went to the fishermans wharf to get dinner. We ended up at a place called the old fishermans grotto, and admittedly it was the worst meal of the trip. It wasn't bad by any means but everything else on the trip has been top notch delicious (because I research like a feind beforehand) and this just didn't hit the mark for me. Everything was a bit overcooked for my liking and not seasoned well. Next time I would try a cheaper place and I'm sure the food would be just as good or better. 

Then we went back to the room where we debated going down to the hotel bar because we had free vouchers but both decided we would rather lie in bed and cuddle. So cuddle and sleep we did.